Nikon Z7 & Z6 Mirrorless Cameras Announced -
Nikon Z7 Exposed!
The Nikon Z7 and Z6 mirrorless cameras have been officially announced - After months of teasing we have an official announcement, photos, specs and most of the answers - I say most because we only have a few early hands-on. I will be back with a full hands-on soon. I will say if you are even a little on the fence - get your pre-orders in - if this camera is going to be anything like the D850 supply/demand situation, over a year after the D850s release we still don't see that camera consistently in stock. There are two features some of you may consider deal breakers!
Nikon Z7 and Z6 Preorder Links
Z7
Nikon Z7
Amazon
Body Only | Body + 24-70 f/4 Z Mount Lens | Body + 24-70 f/4 + FTZ Adapter KitBody Only | Body + 24-70 f/4 Z Mount Lens | Body + 24-70 f/4 + FTZ Adapter Kit
Z6
Nikon Z6
Amazon
Body Only | Body + 24-70 f/4 Z Mount Lens | Body + 24-70 f/4 + FTZ Adapter KitBody Only | Body + 24-70 f/4 Z Mount Lens | Body + 24-70 f/4 + FTZ Adapter Kit
Lenses and Adapters
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FTZ Adapter ($100 off when ordered with kit until Dec 2018)B&H | Amazon
Nikon Z7 Specs
Fully weather sealed on par with D850 which is to say excellent. 45.7MP FX-Format BSI CMOS Sensor - very similar to what we have in the D850 and when I did my hands on review of the D850 I found the image quality to be excellent4K 30/25/24fps Video with the option of N-Log & 10-Bit when recording externally493-Point Phase-Detect AF System - If you are curious about mirrorless vs DSLR focusing system I wrote a complete overview of these systems and its available on the Photo Enthusiast Network. 5 Axis BIVR - BBuilt-InVibration Reduction. Similar to the Sony system - I have had success hand holding shots shots as slow as 1/3 of a second. Note when using the Z mount adapter you only get 3 axis IBIS. 3.6 million EVF - similar to Sony but early reports sound like it feel bigger with a good amount of customization on what you can display in there3.2" 2.1 million-dot Tilting FULLY touch, touchscreen - menus, quick info bar all accessible via touch. Does not function as a touch pad as you get with the Nikon D5600 and Sony a7iii and a7Riii series. 9 fps - Buffer fills up at just 18 frames & I believe the fps drops when you are running continuous AFONE memory card slot - XQD*
A few thoughts on the Nikon Z7 Mirrorless
*XQD cards are more robust and faster and a bit more expensive than SD cards. I think out of all the specs the fact that we have just one memory card slot has been the most controversial - you have those pros that say in 30 years they have never had a memory card fail. And you have those that have had cards faily yesterday and there is no way they will take on a pro level gig without dual memory cards. I would love to know your opinion. I have had cards fail but never lost an image. Recently I had the 2nd slot on my Panasonic GH5 fail and it no longer reads any cards. I am very grateful I had two slots as I was in the middle of an epic trip when it happened. Is this a Deal Breaker? Battery life is rated at just 300 shots. Sony a7RIII is rated at 600 but I know I get far, far more and can almost always make it through a full day of shooting with a single battery - I suspect the Nikon will be much better than the 300 it is rated at - and it’s nice that they are continuing to use the EN 15L battery BUT if you want to charge it in camera, which this camera now supports - you will need to buy the updated B version of the battery. So older batteries will work but will not charge in camera. Is this a Deal Breaker? No Eye-AF which I love and use often with my Sony a7RIII but it sounds like the face detect AF is very good and AF in general is VERY good but quite a bit different from your options as DSLR shooter used to Nikon. - I am excited to test all the AF system with the native lenses and adapted lens. Video focus sounds VERY good on par with Canon’s dual pixel AF which is the best out there.
About that Nikon Z6 (the cheaper Nikon Mirrorless)
The Z6, which isn’t going to be released until Nov 30 has the same form factor but offers 25MP, 273-Point Phase-Detect AF System and looks like it will do noticeably better in low light. It is capapble of up to 12fps - no word on the buffer size at this time.Body only $1996 and with 24-70 $2596Nikon Z6 Body Only | Body + 24-70 f/4 Z Mount Lens | Body + 24-70 f/4 + FTZ Adapter Kit
Three Nikon Z Mount Lenses
Nikon Z Mount 24-70 F/4 LensNikon Z Mount 50mm f/1.8S LensNikon Z Mount 35mm f/1.8S Lens And word of development of a 58mm f/.95 lens (coming in 2019) Fastest lens Nikon has ever made BUT it is manual focus only. It looks beautiful, will have the little OLED distance focus indicator like some of the Batis lenses.
Nikon Z Mount Lens Road Map
They released a full lens road map - There are some serious lenses coming but you will be waiting and I don’t see anything longer than 200 on the horizon and as good as the AF performance has been stated with the adapter - i would be cautious buying into this system until we hear more. I am really curious to see what we will get from Sigma and other third party lenses - will they make their own adapter or will they create native mount glass and the more immediate question - how will existing third party, F-mount lenses work with the current adapter? I am going to assume it’s going to be hit or miss for now but again that’s a wait and see questions. What are you most excited about? When do you think we will hear from Canon with a full frame mirrorless.